Hong Kong Sapling Cup

JC Sapling Cup (Chinese: 賽馬會菁英盃), more commonly known as Sapling Cup (Chinese: 菁英盃), is a Hong Kong domestic football competition contested by all the teams in the Hong Kong Premier League. The objective of the Cup is to provide more playing opportunities for youth players in Hong Kong.

JC Sapling Cup
The current logo for the JC Sapling Cup, starting from 2022–23.
Founded2015
RegionHong Kong Hong Kong
Number of teams10
Current championsSouthern (1st title)
Most successful club(s)Kitchee (2 titles)
2023–24 Hong Kong Sapling Cup

HK$120,000 will go to the winners, with the runners-up getting HK$60,000. The two other losing semi-finalists will each receive HK$30,000, with the six remaining teams getting HK$15,000 each. Players will also be rewarded for their performances, with the best under-22 player from each team winning HK$3,000. The best of the best will earn an additional HK$5,000.[1]

The current Sapling Cup holder is Southern.

Competition name and Rules
Season Name due to sponsorship Logo Rules
2015–16 Henderson Sapling Cup During the course of competition, each team must have on the pitch no fewer than two players under the age of 21 and no more than six foreign players at any time, or to send no more than four foreign players at any time.
2016–17 R&F Properties Sapling Cup
2017–18 Sapling Cup

(No sponsorship)

 During the course of competition, each team must have on the pitch no fewer than two players under the age of 22 and no more than four foreign players at any time.
2018–19
2019–20 During the course of competition, each team must have on the pitch no fewer than three players under the age of 22 and no more than four foreign players at any time.
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23 JC Sapling Cup

(Sponsorship from The Hong Kong Jockey Club)
2023–24
2024–25

Finals

Key
* Match went to extra time
† Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time

Results
Season Winner Score Runners-up Venue Attendance
2015–16 Pegasus 1–1 † South China Mong Kok Stadium 2,150
2016–17 Tai Po 2–1 Pegasus Mong Kok Stadium 2,956
2017–18 Kitchee 2–1 Tai Po Hong Kong Stadium 2,165
2018–19 Lee Man 3–2 * Yuen Long Mong Kok Stadium 2,685
2019–20 Kitchee 3–1 Southern Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground 0[1]
2020–21 Eastern 2–0 Happy Valley Mong Kok Stadium 2,243
2021–22 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
2022–23 Southern 2–0 Lee Man Mong Kok Stadium 2,519

Notes
  1. ^
    Match was played behind closed doors due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong.[2]

Performance by clubs
Club Winners Last final won Runners-up Last final lost
Kitchee 2 2019–20 0 –
Pegasus 1 2015–16 1 2016–17
Tai Po 1 2016–17 1 2017–18
Lee Man 1 2018–19 1 2022–23
Southern 1 2022–23 1 2020–21
Eastern 1 2020–21 0 –
South China 0 – 1 2015–16
Yuen Long 0 – 1 2018–19
Happy Valley 0 – 1 2020–21

See also

References
  1. "Hong Kong Jockey Club to pump nearly HK$2 million into Sapling Cup in new 3-year deal". SCMP.
  2. Chan, Kin-wa. "No showers for players with Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground to host domestic games again behind closed doors". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
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